Comparison
Reflect vs Ghost Inspector
By Sergei Pustovalov, 10 years in QA, ex-Wallester. Last reviewed October 2026.
Two of the most common no-code browser-testing tools, side by side. Both let non-engineers build tests without code; they differ on how you author, what they cost, and what they cover.
Verdict
Ghost Inspector if you want to record clicks in a browser extension and see prices up front, from $109 a month billed annually. SmartBear Reflect if you want plain-English test steps, tests that adapt to UI changes, and Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Safari, and you are fine with sales-led credit plans. Both start with a 14-day free trial; neither has a free plan.
The core difference
Ghost Inspector has been the default record-and-play tool since 2014. You install a Chrome extension, click through a flow, and it captures the steps as a replayable test. It runs on Chromium and Firefox and treats screenshot and visual comparison as a first-class feature. That makes it strong for marketing teams and non-engineers who want quick smoke tests on critical flows.
Reflect is now SmartBear Reflect: reflect.run redirects to SmartBear's site. You write test steps in plain English and its AI turns them into actions, or you record a test in a cloud browser session it streams to you, so there is no extension to install. SmartBear says the tests adapt to UI changes on their own, and it runs web tests on Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Safari. Pricing is sales-led: credit plans of 5,000, 20,000 or 40,000 credits a month, where a web test uses one credit.
Side-by-side
| Feature | Reflect | Ghost Inspector |
|---|---|---|
| No-code authoring | Yes | Yes |
| Authoring style | Plain English, cloud recorder | Chrome extension recorder |
| Free plan | Trial only | Trial only |
| Starting price | Quote from sales | $109/mo billed yearly |
| Browsers | Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari | Chromium, Firefox |
| Visual / screenshot diffs | Yes | Yes |
| Adapts to UI changes | Yes, per SmartBear | No |
| Failure classification | Not listed | No |
Checked on both vendors' websites on 28 October 2026. Confirm current details there; both change.
When each one wins
- Ghost Inspector if recording in a Chrome extension is the workflow your team prefers, you want published prices, or visual diffs are central to your checks.
- SmartBear Reflect if you want plain-English test steps, coverage on Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Safari, and tests that adapt when the UI changes, and you are comfortable buying through sales.
Where Regresco fits
Regresco is a different shape of tool. It drafts flows from a crawl of your site, heals broken selectors at runtime, and classifies each red run as a real regression, a flaky test, or a broken locator, with a free plan and flat published prices. It is Chromium-only and has no recorder or pixel diffs, so it is not a like-for-like swap for either tool. See the full Ghost Inspector alternatives roundup for the wider field, or Regresco vs Ghost Inspector for the head-to-head.
Questions we get a lot
Reflect vs Ghost Inspector: which should I pick?
Pick Ghost Inspector if recording your clicks in a Chrome extension is the workflow your authors want, you want prices you can see before talking to anyone (from $109 a month billed annually), and visual comparison matters to you. Pick SmartBear Reflect if you want to write test steps in plain English, need Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Safari, and are fine buying credit plans through sales. Both start with a 14-day free trial and neither has a free plan.
Are Reflect and Ghost Inspector both no-code?
Yes. Neither requires you to write test code. Ghost Inspector records your interactions through a Chrome extension and replays them. SmartBear Reflect turns plain-English steps into test actions, and it can record a test in a cloud browser session it streams to you, so there is nothing to install. The difference is how you author, not whether you write code.
Which is cheaper, Reflect or Ghost Inspector?
Ghost Inspector publishes its prices: $109, $225 and $449 a month billed annually, or $125, $249 and $499 month to month, for 10,000, 30,000 and 100,000 test runs a month. SmartBear Reflect sells credit plans of 5,000, 20,000 or 40,000 credits a month (a web test uses one credit) and shows no prices, so you get a quote from sales. Both start with a 14-day free trial and neither has a free plan. We checked both pricing pages on 28 October 2026; confirm current numbers there, since both change.
Do either of them handle test maintenance automatically?
Reflect says it does: SmartBear writes that its tests adapt to changes in your app automatically, so they keep working when the UI shifts. Ghost Inspector's record-and-play leaves you re-recording or editing tests by hand when the UI changes. If maintenance is your main pain, that is a real point for Reflect.
What if I want flat, published pricing and a free plan?
Then look past both. Ghost Inspector's bill grows with test runs, and Reflect is priced through sales. Regresco has a free plan (20 runs a month, no card) and flat Pro and Business tiers. It drafts flows from a crawl of your site, heals broken selectors at runtime, and classifies each failure as a real regression, a flaky test, or a broken locator.
Tired of maintaining recorded tests?
Regresco drafts your flows, self-heals broken selectors, and tells you which red runs are real. Free plan, 20 runs a month, no card.